Faceoff Factor

I Want to Know...

C.J. "Stoosh" Jiuliante | National Hockey League

Jan 7, 10:29 PM | Hype this story!

...how long the Philadelphia Flyers and their fans will really put up with Steve Downie’s antics?

Downie – one of the top prospects in the Flyers farm system – found his name among NHL headlines this past weekend after delivering a sucker punch to the eye of Toronto forward Jason Blake as officials were separating the two following a post-whistle scrum. This came just a day after taking a slash at Andy Greene from the Devils.

This isn’t the first time this year Downie has drawn attention to himself for on-ice incidents. Downie was suspended for twenty games after leaving his feet to deliver an illegal hit to the head of Senators forward Dean McAmmond in a September preseason game. While playing out his NHL suspension with the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms, Downie was involved in an incident with Kris Newbury of the Toronto Marlies. Apparently he continued to argue with officials after being taken to the penalty box following a fight with Newbury. His antics in the penalty box ultimately resulted in him getting kicked out of the game. It was after this incident that Flyers management decided to sit Downie down for a post-game chat.

Downie’s on-ice and off-ice conduct issues are nothing new. There was the very publicized fight with Akim Aliu when the two were teammates at Windsor; Downie cross-checked Aliu in the mouth during a practice because Aliu had previously refused to participate in a rookie hazing incident. After being dealt to the Kitchener Rangers during the 2006-07 OHL season, Downie inexplicably suckerpunched a Storm player in the back of the head and threw a tantrum after getting kicked out of the game.

Despite his history, the Flyers saw fit to invest their first-round pick – 29th overall – in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft in Downie. At his best, he’s a solid blend of grit, skill and toughness. He can deliver a check or drop the gloves with the best of them, but Downie is also talented enough to produce points on a scoresheet. In 190 career OHL games, he racked up 506 penalty minutes, good for just about 4-5 minutes a game. He also scored 238 points (82 goals, 152 assists), which put him on pace for about 1.25 points per game.

His skill and his leadership qualities (two-time member of Canada’s gold medal teams in the World Junior Championships in 2006 and 2007) elevated him to first-round status. His abrasive style makes him a seemingly-natural fit for Philadelphia, where fans certainly value a physical style of play that frequently borders on dirty. Downie is one of just five Flyers players who have been suspended so far this season for illegal hits to the heads of opposing players.

It’s one thing to love physical play. Hockey is a game driven on pure emotion, so hitting and even fighting become almost essential parts of the game (ask anyone who’s ever played in a “no-check” league how tough it is to not hit someone else). I love it as much as the next fan and it all needs to stay in the game.

Much like the mystique of intimidation borne of edgy and sometimes dirty play that used to surround the Oakland Raiders of the NFL in the 1970s and 1980s, that same sort of thing exists in Philadelphia, where it seems some fans are more concerned about how many checks the Flyers throw and how many fights they win as opposed to the score at the end of the game. The Flyers have long built their team around a physical style that sometimes toes the lines of the rules. The fans buy into it and you can bet the players do as well.

But there’s a thin line between employing a physical style of play and taking stupid penalties. Too often Downie seems to find himself on the wrong side of that line. It might be entertaining and exciting; it might even be a nod to the old Flyer Way…the same kind of attitude that gave rise to the legendary Broad Street Bullies.

But at some point, one would think the Flyers fans will begin to get tired of watching their penalty kill unit out there for four or five minutes at a time thanks to Downie. At some point, Downie’s teammates will grow tired of killing penalties to bail him out. At some point, John Stevens would have to grow tired of tapping his penalty killers on the shoulder to get them back on the ice…again.

Downie has proven he often allows his emotions to get the best of him, and opposing players know this. His rookie status already puts a target on his back; the reputation that preceded him makes that target a bulls-eye the size of Ontario. Agitators on opposing teams are salivating like Pavlov’s dogs at the chance to knock him off his game, and you can bet many of them will take this chance to welcome the hotheaded rookie to the NHL, put him in his place a bit and also see if they can put their own team at a bit of an advantage.

Downie has to know this and he probably does. But how long will it be before he does something about it? How many times will he have to put his teammates at a disadvantage before it starts to sink in?

And if Downie himself continues to prove incapable of reining himself in, how long before the fans start to say enough is enough?